Dire Situation For Dairy Part 2

Dire Situation For Dairy Part 2

Rick Worthington
Rick Worthington
Dire Situation For Dairy Part 2

Dairy producers have no place to send their milk, and in some cases, they are dumping their milk.

Kristi Spence is with Dairy West, and says, they have received calls from people who would like that milk to be donated or send to foodbanks for the many people who are in need --- but it's more complicated than that.

Milk dumping isn't just devastating for the farmers. For Americans who can't afford food or are unable to buy enough milk because grocery stores are out or capping purchases, the images are painful.

Pouring out milk is another example of how major disruptions in the supply chain, caused by the pandemic and efforts to contain it, are preventing food from getting to where it needs to go.

The pandemic has delivered a major blow to several sectors, from the airline industry to retail. For the milk industry, the setback is particularly painful.

Both dairy farmers and milk processors were struggling even before the pandemic hit. Such a major disruption has only made things harder. And the rigid supply chain means neither farmers nor processors can switch gears quickly enough to avoid waste.

Nobody wants to dump milk. But doing that now -— along with other efforts -— could help farms pull through later on, and could help make sure that Americans have enough milk, cheese, butter and ice cream in the future.

Dairy groups are scrambling to figure out ways to prevent more milk from going to waste without further harming the industry.

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